The Monday Treat – Chocolate and Salted Caramel phyllo pie. For Real.

My friends Jenn and Alan have invited us to a pie tasting party. And though I’d like to start a rumor that pie tasting is the new wine tasting in NYC, that’s not the case. They’re bravely pursuing the dream of owning a food truck, and this is their beta recipe launch.

Jenn and I sat in a cafe while she excitedly told me about the research that she’d been doing. Dreaming big. All the way from markets and street fairs to a bricks and mortar shop, or even, who knows, a chain of shops. It was heady, intoxicating stuff – ambition, passion, action.

My eyes were full of stars when I came home to talk to Jon about it, interrupting him as he worked at the dining room table. What food business would I start if I were brave enough? How would I decorate my stall at the Brooklyn Flea? What would I spend my first million dollars on when I made my fortune in caramel sauce, or gourmet popcorn or really excellent maple-glazed bacon sandwiches?

“What do you think would be the best thing to cook in a $20 per hour kitchen in New Jersey that would turn a profit?” I asked him. He looked up from his work. Gave the matter a few moment’s thought.

“Meth.”

Chocolate Salted Caramel Phyllo Pies (makes 6 individual pies)

This is a really special pie. There’s a silky chocolate filling topped with rich salted caramel, all bundled up in a crisp phyllo shell. Pretty heady stuff

For the phyllo cups:

3 full sized sheets of frozen phyllo dough1 – 2 tbsp melted butter

Defrost the pastry in the fridge overnight or on the counter for a couple of hours. Unwrap and cover with a damp tea towel to stop it drying out

Preheat the oven to whatever the phylo box recommends – medium high. Lay one sheet on a board, brush with butter, lay the next sheet on top and brush with butter, then the third sheet and brush with butter so you have a buttery stack

Now slice the sheets in half and put one half on top of the other so you have a 6 layer stack

Cut this stack into 4 inch squares (or thereabouts). Press each square into a muffin tin hole, to make little cups

Bake for as long as the dough box suggests (usually about 12 mins) until the cups are crisp and golden

Cool on a baking rack

For the chocolate filling

Note: this recipe has a raw egg in it. Use eggs that you trust and don’t give it to pregnant women, fragile people etc. You can leave the egg out altogether for a softer set chocolate, or, probably the best plan here, add 2 tbsp of cream cheese instead (it will taste a bit like a mild chocolate cheese cake)

Glad you like the sound of it! It’s pretty special, but actually pretty simple to put together. I had the leftover caramel sauce on ice cream for dinner last night. Heaven.
Thanks for stopping by!
Kate x